Sometimes I read something that moves me so much I just need to translate it. Hebrew original below. Will probably post it as a note for posterity. I am the woman who translates the names of the dead. 13 July 2014 In these frenzied days I look for routine and finds it in the task of translating names. Not that anyone reads all of them, but heres another child, and another, and a surname that gets repeated again and again, and I figure out that a whole family has been wiped out. Michal Rotem For several days now Ive been translating the names of those killed in Gaza to Hebrew. It was not my idea, and Im not an expert in literary Arabic, but I volunteered my meagre translation skills to help John Brown, because it seemed the right thing for me to do for some odd reason. Every day of my capabilities seem to grow, and I freely scan though Palestinian news sites and the Ministry of Health in Gaza site, plucking out more and more names of the dead. But Im oblivious to it. Like a robot, I sit and translate more and more of the names of the deceased and I do not comprehend at all what is this list, with which I deal. Every so often it hits me. When suddenly in the middle of the list I encounter a series of names that are too similar, with too big an age range, from the same locality and it dawns on me that these are the names of members of a family which was wiped out in moment. I press on determinedly with the list which expands by the minute, unmindful of its various meanings. But then comes a familiar surname, and I think that I know people in the Negev/Naqab from this family, and I get brought back to reality. First names of my close friends also make me sad, because I remember that ultimately these are human being which I systematically list. Theres something very anodyne about this list: Name, place of residence, age. For some people there are details missing some of which are updated in the following days. Im not sufficiently versed in such matters to know who was a senior Hamas commander, who fired rockets and whos just trying to live his life which was over in a minute. All names are listed one after the other, without notes about the deceaseds degree of involvement in the situation. When I start to think about it, some things are nevertheless clear. Dozens of children, aged one and a half, three, and 11, and even 16, along with older women aged 73 and 80, are all victims of this intolerable situation. In my quest for routine these days, I find it for some reason in updating this list. I dont think that someone really sits down reading it name after name, and thinking of who s/he was and what s/he did just before it was all over. But out of desperation I want to believe that there are people on whom this awful list of names will have some impact, turn their stomachs and make them want to stop everything and start taking a different path. This list is updated every few hours, and for every person involved in the fighting there are several other names of victims who have no connection to the fighting. Dozens of names are added every day. Regardless of your stance on Gaza, open the list and try to read out loud one name after another. You can choose to read just the kids names. Now please tell me that you think that this killing must not stop.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 05:21:06 +0000
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